May 2006 Archives

[WILL POST VIDEO LATER]

Craig drove Eldora to the airport this morning and the plan was to go to Galveston. The weather had other ideas though, so we decided to hit the Downtown Aquarium instead. The kids seemed to like this and I think it was just the right pace for them. After that we drove across town to IKEA for lunch, a little play-time, and a little shopping. Jacob & Sam slept in the car on the way home but Anna just giggled. Thankfully she took a nap when we got home at 3 PM though or else I don't think we would have had a good afternoon!

Grandma and Grandpa went to visit Elaine while the rest of us piled in the rented minivan and went to the pool. I should let Mat tell his own story here, but we did get pulled over on the way to the pool—I guess he was excited to swim! Thankfully he didn't get a ticket.

In the afternoon while Anna & Sam slept, Jacob helped me make some brownie cupcakes for Grandma's birthday on Thursday (we decided to celebrate tonight so that Eldora could celebrate with us).

On our drive home from the pool it started raining so we were inside for the rest of the day. We did stop to take some pictures of Great Grandma with the great-grandkids, but at least two of the great-grandkids weren't cooperating because it was too close to bedtime for portraits.

[WILL POST VIDEO LATER]

Craig & Mat picked up Grandpa Jerry at the airport and we all met at the shopping center to go to lunch at Johnny Rocket's for Grandma's birthday. It was raining so we didn't send the kids running through the fountains and we didn't rent Segways (not sure if anyone wanted to do that anyway!). I have some OK video of the kids at Johny Rocket's when the staff went up front to dance to the BeeGee's that I'll post. Basically the kids just stopped what they were doing and stared at the dancers but it was pretty cute. Anna had seen this before so I think she may have been less surprised than Jacob & Sam.

It rained a bit today so we didn't get to spend much time outside like we had hoped.

Great-Grandma Eldora, Grandma Adele, Aunt Rachel, Uncle Mat, and cousins Jacob & Sam arrived last night after Anna was in bed so she woke up to a full-house this morning. She started saying (as I had predicted) "bye-bye" during breakfast, but she soon realized that it was pretty fun to play alongside her cousins.

Rachel, Jacob, Sam, Anna, & I walked to the park this morning where Mat & Craig were playing disc golf. It is a 1.3 mile walk to this particular park and Jacob was hot (major difference in humidity here compared to Colorado!) but did not accept offers to ride in a stroller or ride in the van with Grandma & Great Grandma. The kids had fun at the park when we got there, though. Anna & Sam actually sat in the Zooper together for a little while when we were trying to convince Jacob to ride in the other stroller.

We brought out the pool in the afternoon where both Jacob & Sam dumped water on Anna's head and she surprised me by not getting very upset at all. I think playgroup was a big help in preparing Anna for her cousins' arrival.

Anna didn't feel like being a supermodel today (she's felt this way often in the past!) so I took what I could get (the first photo above) and kept a couple of funny ones (at least the second one shows her top two front teeth!). Maybe we'll try again when Craig is home so he can help me out or maybe I'll just let it go.

We went out for brunch today for something to do and then we met Caroline and Bryan (and their moms, of course!) at the park for a little more something to do. We also stopped by and made a mess at Claire & James' house in the afternoon so we definitely made the rounds. It is so fun knowing other kids her age to hang out with!

Anna did really well at playgroup today. She was whiney the first week, hungry last week (so we spent a lot of time at the table and not playing!), and explored a bit more this week.

Of course we're not going for three weeks now (cousins coming and then two weeks of swimming lessons) so hopefully she'll be OK with it when we go back next month and we won't have to start back up with a whiney-week.

We bought Anna her own little "phone" so she'd stop randomly dialing people in our real phone's directory, making international calls, etc. It took a little pretend-talking on our part, but she was finally convinced that this phone is fun to play with, too.

Anna is still really into reading lately although her attention-span for any given book varies throughout the day.

I ran with my watch & heart-rate monitor today. By all indications, my heart-rate monitor must have thought I was about to die. I should investigate further, but it may be that I have a high resting heart-rate. I'm thinking it will lower when I get in better shape though? My average heart-rate was 176 for my run which probably means that I should slow down a bit! I think this next week I'll focus on going for 30 minutes and try to keep my HR lower (between 95-161 bpm).

Today was harder because I went out about 90 minutes later than I had last week so there was a lot more sun in my eyes and it was 66° and 67% humidity.

(Craig rollerbladed & I biked to a park w/Anna yesterday ~3 miles round-trip.)

This Week:
Miles Run: 2

Totals Since 5/14:
Miles Run: 8
Miles Walked: 5
Miles Biked: 3

Anna & I went to the big pool today with playgroup (we are meeting there once a week in addition to the regular playgroup). She was a little skeptical at first, but when we got out after about 15 minutes (there is a mandatory 10-minute break each hour—I'm not sure why) she wanted to get back in. I packed a pretty full diaper bag but next time I need to bring with us: a little beach ball, a trash bag, and possibly a contraption for Anna to float in to give my back a break. She wasn't into standing or sitting in the water (1 ft deep). That might change though after swimming lessons and when we go to a different pool with an even shallower depth.

I have some video to post (not from the pool though!), just need to sort through it and edit.

Same two-mile run this morning; 55° & 65% humidity (very nice!). I did it one minute faster by the kitchen clock.

I found my watch this morning after I got back: it was in a drawer in my office. I'm excited to use it next time (although I probably need to check the heart-rate monitor battery before that).

(I walked to a park a little farther away with Anna yesterday.)

Miles Run This Week: 6
Miles Walked This Week: 5

Anna skinned her knee on Saturday (while Craig was watching her, mind you!) and today she started grabbing at the scab so I put a Hello, Kitty! bandaid on her knee which worked pretty well since she was transfixed with the cat on her knee. She did try to take the bandaid off a few times, but soon she forgot about it.

New Spoken Words: robot, bagel, drain, drawer, bath, bowl

**Really, I think I can't remember the words anymore; I think I'm just going to have to leave it at "she says a lot of words"

My second run went better today than on Sunday. My legs were still a bit stiff from Sunday but I forced myself out of bed and went. Weather was cool (about 55° with 60% humidity) and the most motivating song was Cecilia by Simon & Garfunkel. Still haven't located my watch, but I noted the time on the oven when I left and came back and 24 minutes had elapsed.

(I walked yesterday with Anna.)

Miles Run This Week: 4
Miles Walked This Week: 2

Anna likes holes: she likes to look through them, drop things through them, stick her arms in them, etc.

I've decided to start running again for various reasons.

1. It's a good workout
2. I know how to measure my fitness-level when I run
3. It is fantastic me-time with just my thoughts and no other responsibilities

I'm going to see if I can set up a little workout log here to keep me accountable since I know you all will be reading (who you are, I don't really know--I should have a day where everyone is required to leave a post if they read this blog!).

I have been "working" on losing some weight since about February this year. I have lost 11.5 pounds by joining Weight Watchers (I'm paying for it now but I haven't actually tracked points since just before Anna's birthday) and exercising sporadically. (I honestly think stopping nursing and eating better is the ticket for the relative ease of these first 11.5 pounds.) Someone on my mom's group message board was looking for someone to meet up with at the local twice-a-month 5K and that was just the motivation I needed to get in the running frame of mind.

The plan is to run in the morning while Craig showers because I don't currently own a jogging stroller and cannot justify buying one until I can prove that I'm going to stick with running. And it would make more sense to just wait until we have another kid to buy a jogging stroller so that I can just get a double and not mess with/waste money on a single.

I cannot locate my heart-rate monitor watch (I have the strap, but need to search for the watch) so I don't have my time today, but I ran 2 miles this afternoon after the rain stopped and the weather felt pretty cool (no sun and it wasn't too humid). Perfect, actually, for an afternoon run in mid-May in this part of the country! I listened to The Doors and they were appropriately motivating (especially the end of L.A. Woman).

Photos by Craig

Happy Mother's Day to all of the moms, moms-to-be, and moms-at-heart out there!

Grandma & Grandpa came in for a visit this weekend. They babysat for us last night while Craig & I went out to a potluck with Lesley's Babysitting Co-Op group. There isn't room in teh co-op for us right now, but another couple that was there last night is interested in starting a new one with us (and some others that have expressed interest). I even scored the names of two babysitters while I was there so maybe Craig & I can get out more often more regularly!

I missed some exciting stuff yesterday when I went upstairs to get ready for the potluck: Craig, Grandma, & Grandpa asked Anna to point out different parts of her body and she was able to point out her: arms, hair, eyes, ears, nose, toes, elbows, and hands. I'll have to ask her again sometime (hey, maybe even for the camera--although she usually shuts off fo the camera!).

New Spoken Words: mirror, dark, squirrel, bag, Target^®, paper, CD Player, couch, bed, turtle, dolphin

New Signed Words: big

New Un-prompted Phrases: "big duck"

Anna has started saying "me" when she wants to read a book together; this is because I often say "do you want to read a book with me?"

Anna loves to read and her favorite books change regularly; today she was particularly fond of Pie Rats Ahoy! and her dumptruck book.

Sharon's "taquito" comment makes me think that my lovely readers may think that Anna is actually speaking clearly and that people other than those immediately in the room and paying attention would know what she's talking about. For the most part, she says a single syllable for each "word" I've listed although she is starting to say double syllables (like "baby" and "caca" (for cracker) or "papa" (for pepper)). Just wanted to clear up any potential mis-understandings there. The books say if they say the word consistently the same way, it counts as a word, so I've been counting it since she is communicating with me when she uses the words. I don't know when it is that their speech becomes clearer to non-caregivers; another year? when she gets a full set of teeth?

Anna did pretty well at play group; she was a bit whiney for my taste, but I think that's a phase she's going through right now (especially when she falls while walking around). The group was small today (I think due to email communcation errors) which I'm sure was better for Anna anyway. I'm really pleased that we found the group and am looking forward to next week!

Oh, and for the record, Taquito sounds like "tah."

New Spoken Words: crib, tissue, shoes, dots

The book arrived and it's pretty awesome. I wouldn't use it as a platform to sell my photography (images printed OK, but could have been better) but it is perfect for what I wanted it to be. Expect a copy at your door (via UPS) in another week or so if (in relation to Anna) your title is: Grandma, Nana, Great-Grandma, or Ur Opa. And happy Mother's Day & Father's Day to you all.

Liz, let me know if you want to take a look in person and I'll drop my copy in the mail to you to check out.

The book: the binding.

Front cover & spine: no, I won't win any cover-design awards this year, but the front image is her first "official" portrait on 3/19/2005.

The back cover portrait is her "official" one year portrait taken on 3/19/2006.

A peek inside

The black & white ultrasound images printed better than the color.

I've been meaning to write about this for some time, but never get around to it... I have often felt like I am at the bar trying to pick up a date when Anna & I go to the park each day. Lately there isn't anybody there at all (which I don't understand because we go when it is still relatively "cool" outside), but often, especially when someone has a child near Anna's age, I find I get particularly excited and think this could be a potential friend (for both Anna & myself) but it never turns into anything but a pleasant one-time chat at the park.

I am lucky that Adrianne caught up with me that day last fall so that Anna has a couple of little friends in the neighborhood, but they are really the only other kids we know that are her age. Until today... today is our first playgroup wth the mom's group, but I still feel like it's a bit like dating: I'm hoping that they'll like us and we'll like them. I know Anna has a lot of social-skills to learn (sharing, and just generally being around other kids who may push her out of the way, take her toy, etc.) I imagine it will be kind of like when we joined the kid's gym and it took a few visits to get her comfortable with the idea.

About the mom's group: I am finding myself almost frustrated that I didn't find them earlier. I really needed a group like this at this time last year (and I looked--hence the web site work I'm helping them with: no one knows about this group!). I know I joined MOPS but since those meetings were right during Anna's nap time we never went, and the few times we did go, I guess it didn't really feel like what I was looking for. I felt bad about putting Anna in the nursery and knowing that she was having a miserable time for over two hours. (We are thinking of gasp starting to attend a church now that Anna has given up her morning nap, so she will "get" to experience nursery-life again, but just for an hour each week (that we attend!).)

Another great thing about the mom's group (especially the playgroup) that I've joined is that the kids are all around Anna's age (oldest in the playgroup is 17 months and the youngest is just under 11 months) so these moms are all going through about the same stages as I am--this is why I so wish I had had this resource last year at this time! But, I have them now so I am going to enjoy it and I'll know where to turn next time around as well!

Anna loves to practice getting in and out of her outdoor chair.

She also loves to make silly faces; especially when I make them back!

Anna was so cute in her new sleeveless top, I had to do a mini-photo session in the backyard while Craig made dinner. I was originally trying to get a shot of the barrette I put in her hair, but she wouldn't let me get a good shot of the right side of her head. (I feel like I'm very often sweeping her long "bangs" off of her face but I'm not sure I'm ready to cut it or get a "style" yet, I'm waiting to see what it does if we just grow it out long.) She also got some new sandals today (not pictured, either!) so she doesn't have to wear socks in 80-90 degree weather!

I also keep forgetting to note that the volume on Anna's speaking voice has toned down to normal levels since our trip to Paris. I think this happened during our trip (thank goodness, I was nervous about being LOUD Americans on our trip!).

New Spoken Words: "choo" (as in "ah-choo" for a sneeze, something we do a lot of in our house!), avocado, taquito, more, mail

Craig and I heard her say "head door" when she bumped her head on the door tonight--does that count as her first sentence?

The book shipped on Wednesday.... Trying to be patient over here! I will post photos of the book when it arrives!

Anna wanted to sit on this shelf and read her book. It involved hitting her head on the bottom of the shelf above a few times, but she insisted.

Blackberries. (Sorry about the funky color here, I can't get around it with the breakfast room light. Her hair/coloring is more realistic in the photo of her on the bookshelf.)

Wednesday I decided that, even though Anna was still a bit on-edge from teething, we were going to get out of the house. I gave her some Tylenol and we went to the UPS Store and then to the local coffee house. We got a seat outside and I had a mint-chocolate-chip-mocha and Anna had a chocolate chip muffin. She was much happier with her life by the time we got to the coffee house and much more chocolaty (?!) when we left!

This (a special food treat) is something I struggle with, espcially with having a daughter. I don't want to make food an "issue" (and I know she's only 13.5 months) so I had a hard time convincing myself that it was okay to go out for a muffin when she wasn't feeling well. I think she knows it was a special one-time thing so I'm really not worried about creating a comfort-eating habit at this point, but it is on my mind.

Yesterday she was acting normally (no Tylenol, no teething gel!) so we went to Target to make some returns and then hit the outdoor shopping area to hang out at the park, buy me some new shoes (to replace my Birkenstocks from 1994 or 1995!), a new HTML/XHTML/CSS book (for my mom's group web site project) at the bookstore, and get some lunch. It was a fun little mother-daughter-day-out and she was really great in the stores & restaurant because we got to get out and run around in the park, too.

Craig is encouraging me to try to keep the running list of words, but I feel like I can't keep up (so I know my list is already incomplete...). Anna wants to know what everything is and then either says the word or moves on. One word that she doesn't say is "swing" even though she loves the swing so I would think that that would be highly motvitating. She says "slide" so it's not the "s" sound. I've been doing the sign for "swing" for her instead because that is her only grunting & pointing word (she is loving the swing again at the park).

New Spoken Words: towel, (wash)cloth, clothes, grass, girl, boy, baby (actual two-syllable word that really sounds like "baby"!), boat, arm, nose, hair, mama (she says it wih meaning), dada (also definitely knows that that is Craig), dry, gel (as in teething gel!), tall, juice (says "dada juice" because Craig is always drinking juice), bug, heavy

New Signed Words: thank you, tall

We skipped our first day at playgroup today (I am so disappointed!!) because Anna started getting a runny nose yesterday and I thought it might be a cold. She had a hard time getting to sleep last night and started getting more sneezy this morning. I just finally felt in her mouth and there are at least two teeth coming in, although I'm suspecting four since I confirmed one on the bottom right and the other on the top left. I think these are her first molars which I've heard countless times are the worst. So far the top four front (incisors) have been the worst for her; but we're not done with these yet!

Last time she was teething I remember her being a super-crab. This time she is maybe a little more emotionally-needy and more easily frustrated, but nothing very extreme.

Also, she decided to practice standing on her own in the middle of the room after lunch--the power of suggestion, I guess (assuming she reads the blog in her spare time).

Anna's first real walking was in Paris, but it took until last Friday for me to officially consider her to be "toddling." After the long walk to the park on Thursday afternoon, we went to the park again (in the stroller) on Friday and after she was done swinging, she took off on her own through the grass. Now she's walking everywhere. She doesn't know how to stand up in the middle of the room yet though (I think she does, but she doesn't realize it).

I have been so consumed with her book last week that I couldn't stay on top of the blog. I have moved on to a new obsession (working on a web site for the mom's group I joined), but hopefully it won't interfere with blogging (and attempting to fulfill video-post demands requests from Sharon & Nana).